NaNoWriMo :: NaNoWriMo Blog

"By the end of our conversation, I now had one person that would put sleep and sanity aside for one month to embark on this amazing journey..."

"NaNoWriMo is fun, but it is barrels of fun when you write with a group. Intent on both finishing a 50,000 word novel and dragging a friend or two across the finish line, I began recruiting people a few days before November 1st. Rewarded with mostly blank stares, the finish line seemed farther and farther. But, keeping my head held high, I continued relentlessly towards my goal of beginning and finishing NaNo with friends by my side, because what's the purpose of finishing without someone to share it with?

Well, it was the week before NaNo, and I was knee deep in outlining. Every chance I got, I pulled out my notebook and scribbled like a mad man. And when anyone came near, I asked their opinion on whether or not I should incorporate a vicious man/llama to get the main character to go into the abyss of doom. It was then I met Amanda. Quiet, kind of to herself, I felt she would be the perfect person to ask if my main character should have a wooden leg. Thank goodness I did, too. By the end of our conversation, I now had one person that would put sleep and sanity aside for one month to embark on this amazing journey we now had before us. Before long, one person became two, which then became four, and then we had a nice sized group that made the vow to attempt the journey. Cheers abound, we set off on our journey bright and early that November 1st.

We met frequently during school, meeting up in our small alcove in the school's library. Eventually, we managed to get the librarians to reserve the spot just for us! So, even when the library was full of loud, obnoxious teenagers, we had our tiny get-away between the last row of non-fiction and the first and only shelve of biographies. We had a table with four chairs and two comfy chairs next to the window that opened up into the school courtyard. Many a word was written in that alcove, and many a fun time was had. There was even an incident with a leg appearing inside a window across the yard. Not an entire body, but just a leg.

November marched on, and as did we. We were nearing our goal, and we were helping (read: dragging) each other along the way. One day, I was walking to class a tad bit late due to the fact my main characters wife needed to die, and I couldn't decide whether it should be a simple fall down the stairs due to a drunken stupor, or a slow painful death due to a super-virus that was slowly making it's way across the globe. While walking to my class, a teacher stopped me and asked if I was the one that was organizing the novel writing group. I replied with a modest, yet hurried, yes. She then took my hand and shook it. With a bewildered look, I just stared back. She then said 'I just wanted to shake your hand. You've made people who felt like they didn't belong anywhere in their life feel like they finally belong somewhere.'

Needless to say, I was late for class."

--Dylan Staley

Dylan is a 15 (16 on July 18th!) year old high school student from the capital city of Louisiana. This past year was his first year participating in NaNoWriMo, and it will NOT be his last. Also, Dylan's favorite genres are fantasy and realistic fiction, and his favorite farm animal is a chicken.

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